'He was it ... he was bigger than life'

1:52 PM,
Oct. 26, 2013

Poughkeepsie native Wes Bialosuknia, right, who starred at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School before playing basketball at UConn, poses with the Jaguar he received as part of his contract with the American Basketball Association's Oakland Oaks in 1967. At left is former Poughkeepsie Journal Sports Editor John Flanagan.

Written by

Greg Kohls remembers those nights in the early 1960s, when his parents would bring him to Franklin D. Roosevelt High School to watch his hero take the court.

To young basketball players in Hyde Park, Kohls said, Wes Bialosuknia was like Mickey Mantle.

"He was everyone's inspiration," Kohls said. "We all waited for him to come to the court. We saw the success he had, going on to star at the University of Connecticut. It gave us hope that he could be us." ...